Singh G, et al., J Community Med Public Health Care 2021, 8: 078 DOI: 10.24966/CMPH-1978/100078
HSOA Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health Care Research Article
Continuity of Antenatal Care Services in Chhattisgarh during COVID19 Gajendra Singh1*, Vishnu Gupta2 and Narayan Tripathi3 Public Health Specialist, Indian Institute of Health Management Research, Jaipur, India
1
2
Programme Associate, State Health Resource Center, Chhattisgarh, India
Senior Programme Coordinator, State Health Resource Center, Chhattisgarh, India
3
Abstract Context: COVID 19 has enforced lockdown all-over India as a crucial step to control the infection and flatten the epidemiological curve of the disease. As Lockdown has also prohibited the gathering of people and commercial activities, this has also thrown challenge on health systems to sustain the essential health services particularly ANC services due to shift of resources towards COVID 19 response. Aims: Study was conducted to describe pregnant women’s general concerns as well as their attitudes and preferences in relation to the COVID 19 pandemic as well as to assess the Antenatal care services and knowledge and practices among pregnant women during the pandemic of Covid-19 in Chhattisgarh. It was also an attempt to ascertain continuity of ANC services during COVID 19 pandemic.
remember the date of their last ANC visit while date of last ANC visit was mentioned in MCP card for 82.7% pregnant women. More than 95% of last ANC visits were done in most critical times (15th March to 31st July 2020). In 93% cases, pregnant women visited routine places (VHND/SHC/PHC/CHC/DH) for ANC visit. 92% pregnant women covered their mouth mask/cloth during last ANC visit while in 95% cases, face was also covered by person doing ANC. 99.5% pregnant women mentioned that they have heard about COVID 19. The common source of information being front-line health worker (ASHA/Mitanin) 76.2% (1130). More than two third (69.2%) pregnant women are afraid of child delivery during uncertain times of COVID 19 followed by fear of getting infected if visit hospital for ANC (62.2%). Conclusion: The study showed that the majority of the pregnant women believed that they were at a high risk of infection with COVID-19, and many were concerned about possible health consequences, especially for their unborn child. Almost 90% of the pregnant women isolated at home most of the time. The majority were worried about possible consequences for antenatal care. More than 60% women are afraid of giving birth in these uncertain COVID times as well as of getting infection during ANC visit to hospital. Keywords: Antenatal care; COVID; Chhattisgarh; Knowledge; Mental health
Background
Received: February 22, 2021; Accepted: March 15, 2021; Published: March 22, 2021
Health care services during pregnancy and childbirth and after delivery are important for the survival and well-being of both the mother and the infant. Antenatal care (ANC) can reduce health risks for mothers and their babies by monitoring pregnancies and screening for complications. Delivery at a health facility, with skilled medical attention and hygienic conditions, reduces the risk of complications and infections during labor and delivery. The World Health Organization (WHO) envisions a world where every pregnant woman and newborn receives quality care throughout the pregnancy. Within the continuum of reproductive health care, ANC provides a platform for important health-care functions, including health promotion, screening, and diagnosis, and disease prevention. It has been established that by implementing timely and appropriate evidencebased practices, ANC can save lives. Crucially, ANC also provides the opportunity to communicate with and support women, families, and communities at a critical time in the course of a woman’s life. Antenatal care is the importance of providing effective communication about physiological, biomedical, behavioral, and sociocultural issues, and effective support, including social, cultural, emotional, and psychological support, to pregnant women in a respectful way. These communication and support functions of ANC are key, not only to saving lives but to improving lives, health-care utilization, and quality of care. Women’s positive experiences during ANC and childbirth can create the foundations for healthy motherhood [1].
Copyright: © 2021 Singh G, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Pregnant women represent a uniquely vulnerable group in any infectious disease outbreak because of their altered physiology, susceptibility to infections, and compromised mechanical and
Settings and Design: Observational, cross sectional study was conducted in eight districts of Chhattisgarh state, India Materials and Methods: Data was collected using a pre-designed and pre-tested schedule for interviews. Statistical analysis used: Microsoft Excel XLSTAT and the results were calculated in frequencies and percentages. Results: Majority of the women (89.3%) are from 2nd and 3rd trimester. 96.7% pregnant women have done ANC visits to nearest heath facility. It is evident that coverage of ANC visits decreases from 1st ANC visit to 4th ANC visit. It is also important to note that 3.3% women have not done any ANC visits. 92.3 % pregnant women *Corresponding author: Gajendra Singh, Public Health Specialist, Indian Institute of Health Management Research, Jaipur, India, Tel: +91 9560002061; E-mail: talk2me@doctor.com Citation: Singh G, Gupta V, Tripathi N (2021) Continuity of Antenatal Care Services in Chhattisgarh during COVID19. J Community Med Public Health Care 8: 078.